Prayer for Lent 3

A prayer for reconciliation.

God of love,

We open our arms
to hug and to hold,
welcome and invite.

With outstretched hands,
we lower our defenses
and accept the vulnerability
that comes with love.

Did the soldiers know
what they were doing
as they stretched the arms
of Jesus onto the cross?

Humiliated and scorned,
the Eternal King
chose vulnerability, love,
and reconciliation
instead of rejection.

Give us the courage
to do the same.

Amen